MOM STOP: Organizing with kids can be complicated

Published: Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 3, 2014 at 3:40 p.m.

On New Year’s Eve, I tried to explain to my two preschoolers what the day meant.

“Tomorrow is the start of a whole near year, and today is the last day of 2013,” I told them.

“And tomorrow we get to open more presents?” my daughter shouted excitedly.

No, I tried to tell her, explaining that Christmas is over. Despite our attempts at shying away from the commercialism of the season and instead focus on the birth of Christ, when it comes to our 4-year-old, Christmas really boils down to one thing: presents.

In our little family, we stick to a three-gift rule at Christmas with our kids, including a “big” toy gift from Santa, then two other gifts from us, including something to wear and something to read. But my kids are showered with toys by their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. We are thankful for their generosity, and our kids definitely are, too.

But, as my husband tried to

puzzle-piece four suitcases, a doll high chair, a plastic princess castle, a new train set, a metal toy dump truck and four dolls along with a myriad of other gifts into the back of our small SUV after Christmas — we realized something needs to be done.

“I think it’s time for a van,” my husband said.

“Maybe,” replied. “But I think we need to get rid of some stuff.”

It’s time to organize, we agreed. Our New Year’s goal: For every new toy or present that we brought into the house after Christmas, something else needs to go. The fact is, when you have a house that is bursting at the seams with two adults, two young kids and a dog, there isn’t much more room for extras.

If you are a parent of a young child, I don’t have to tell you about the plethora of stuff that seems to come with each new baby, and how that mountain seems to grow along with the child. A day after we got home from celebrating Christmas, my daughter’s room looked like a bomb went off: doll clothes strewn across the floor, her new American Girl doll straddling the side of the doll crib, hair going in every direction. There were little plastic doll shoes, books pulled from the bookcase, plastic toy bottles and toy food pulled from her toy refrigerator.

My 2-year-old son’s room looked like a demolition derby, a collection of his coveted fire trucks, dump trucks, construction vehicles, a school bus and toy trains scattered across the floor, along with plastic blocks and wooden train tracks.

Yes, something needs to be done.

My daughter takes pride in cleaning her room and does a good job for her age. But, as we explained to her, there are kids who don’t have toys, who would love to have the toys that she doesn’t play with. And so, we started by filling a trash bag with stuffed animals. Next, we plan to go through closets, and perhaps start de-cluttering the kitchen, too.

I’m already searching through the IKEA website and pinterest.com looking for organization inspiration. I want to have a de-

cluttered, organized household in 2014. I’m not sure that is possible with two preschoolers in tow, but that’s my goal.

If anyone has any tips on how they organize life with little ones, I’d love to hear them.

<p>On New Year's Eve, I tried to explain to my two preschoolers what the day meant. </p><p>“Tomorrow is the start of a whole near year, and today is the last day of 2013,” I told them. </p><p>“And tomorrow we get to open more presents?” my daughter shouted excitedly. </p><p>No, I tried to tell her, explaining that Christmas is over. Despite our attempts at shying away from the commercialism of the season and instead focus on the birth of Christ, when it comes to our 4-year-old, Christmas really boils down to one thing: presents. </p><p>In our little family, we stick to a three-gift rule at Christmas with our kids, including a “big” toy gift from Santa, then two other gifts from us, including something to wear and something to read. But my kids are showered with toys by their grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. We are thankful for their generosity, and our kids definitely are, too. </p><p>But, as my husband tried to </p><p>puzzle-piece four suitcases, a doll high chair, a plastic princess castle, a new train set, a metal toy dump truck and four dolls along with a myriad of other gifts into the back of our small SUV after Christmas — we realized something needs to be done. </p><p>“I think it's time for a van,” my husband said. </p><p>“Maybe,” replied. “But I think we need to get rid of some stuff.” </p><p>It's time to organize, we agreed. Our New Year's goal: For every new toy or present that we brought into the house after Christmas, something else needs to go. The fact is, when you have a house that is bursting at the seams with two adults, two young kids and a dog, there isn't much more room for extras. </p><p>If you are a parent of a young child, I don't have to tell you about the plethora of stuff that seems to come with each new baby, and how that mountain seems to grow along with the child. A day after we got home from celebrating Christmas, my daughter's room looked like a bomb went off: doll clothes strewn across the floor, her new American Girl doll straddling the side of the doll crib, hair going in every direction. There were little plastic doll shoes, books pulled from the bookcase, plastic toy bottles and toy food pulled from her toy refrigerator. </p><p>My 2-year-old son's room looked like a demolition derby, a collection of his coveted fire trucks, dump trucks, construction vehicles, a school bus and toy trains scattered across the floor, along with plastic blocks and wooden train tracks. </p><p>Yes, something needs to be done. </p><p>My daughter takes pride in cleaning her room and does a good job for her age. But, as we explained to her, there are kids who don't have toys, who would love to have the toys that she doesn't play with. And so, we started by filling a trash bag with stuffed animals. Next, we plan to go through closets, and perhaps start de-cluttering the kitchen, too. </p><p>I'm already searching through the IKEA website and pinterest.com looking for organization inspiration. I want to have a de-</p><p>cluttered, organized household in 2014. I'm not sure that is possible with two preschoolers in tow, but that's my goal.</p><p>If anyone has any tips on how they organize life with little ones, I'd love to hear them.</p>